Maori borrowings in New Zealand (sociolinguistics aspects)

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A significant feature of New Zealand English is the fact that it is also spoken as a second language (ESL) in NZ. This is especially the case for many of the New Zealanders who are not of European descent, meaning predominantly those coming from one of the Pacific Islands, or those who claim to be of Maori descent. As the Maori are the indigenous people of the country and constitute about 14 per cent of the whole population, their significance concerning linguistic matters cannot be denied, especially in the light of the recognition of tereo Maori (the Maori language) as an official language in NZ in recent times. As a consequence of this side-by-side existence of both NZE and NZ Maori (NZM) the influence on each other has always been strong. A result of this language contact was the development of a distinctive dialect of NZE: Maori English (NZME).

The close contact between the Maori speaking and English speaking populations has resulted in changes in both languages. English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary have influenced Maori, and conversely, many borrowings from Maori have made their way into English vocabulary (e.g., the current online version of the Oxford English Dictionary 31 lists 287 entries of Maori origin).

The flow of Maori loans into New Zealand English has not gone unnoticed. According to Deverson, “the most unmistakably New Zealand part of New Zealand English is its Maori element” [1, p.18-25]. Macalister describes the borrowing situation in recent times as follows: “it is likely that the Maori presence in New Zealand English will continue to grow in future, and that this presence will continue to define the distinctiveness of New Zealand English lexicon” [2, p. 21].

The first wave of borrowings from Maori during the late 18th and early 19th century consisted primarily of words that describe environmental and nature terms (such as, paua “abalone”, kumara “sweet potato”, rimu “red pine”), Maori place names (Tauranga, Rotorua, Whanganui), and some indigenous culture terms (marae “Maori meeting house”, hangi “earth oven to cook food with steam and heat from heated stones”).

This first wave of borrowings gave way to further “waves” [2], bringing in more Maori words such as waka “canoe”, taonga “ treasure”, iwi “tribe”, kuia “female elder”, koha “gift/donation”, hui “meeting” and so on. This time, the words had to do with the organisation of Maori society and culture, and important historical events. Deverson points out an important difference between the first wave of Maori loans and subsequent ones: “while colonial borrowing from Maori was Pakeha-driven, 2 motivated by the European's need to come to terms with a strange world, the recent revival or new wave of borrowing is by contrast Maori-driven, initiated in large part by Maori speakers and writers themselves” [1, p. 20]. Some of the motivations identified as driving the use of Maori borrowings today have to do with filling semantic gaps in existing vocabulary of New Zealand English, economy of expression, expression of identity and display of empathy, clarity of meaning, and language play [3].

The vocabulary of the Maori language is easily recognizable both in spelling and in sound. Due to its word-formation structure, in which each syllable has only one consonant and always ends with a consonant sound, the Maori language gives an impression of a very pleasant language. Maori borrowings is one of the most unique features of New Zealand English, and Maori words are widely used both in New Zealand's everyday language and in national mass media discourse.

For example, the headlines of the one of most popular New Zealand newspaper “The New Zealand Herald” often look like this: “Plans halted for Rotoruate reo road signs" (The New Zealand Herald, April 8, 2018) [5], where Rotorua - New Zealand sity with Maori name (translated as - “crater lake"), and Te reo means the language of the indigenous population, the latter concept is verbalized in the New Zealand media almost exclusively by the Maori term: “Mike's Minute: The trouble with Te Reo” (The New Zealand Herald, January 22, 2018) [5], “Barry Soper: No Bill English, te reo Maori is not someone else's language - it's ours” (The New Zealand Herald, January 24, 2018) [5], “First te reo speaker Justice Joseph Williams appointed to Court of Appeal” (The New Zealand Herald, January 22, 2018) [5], “Maori food trucks and English-free signs suggested for Wellington to be Te Reo capital ” (The New Zealand Herald, May 3, 2018) [5], “ Winston Peters hits out at MPs following slip-up on wording around compulsory Te Reo” (The New Zealand Herald, May 8, 2018) [5]. This Maori borrowing also are found in “ The Dominion Post”: “Giving te reo Maori a future about looking to the past” (The Dominion Post, January 25, 2018) [4].

The headline of “New Zealand Herald" “The Top Kiwi Chef Among the Huge Number of Kiwis Wanting to Learn Te reo Maori ” (The New Zealand Herald, February 25, 2018) [5] not only demonstrates another example of the usage of the Te reo expression, but presents a very widespread word of Maori origin, which often is used as a national self-naming (nickname) of New Zealanders - Kiwi. This nickname has appeared in the years of the First World War due to the fact that New Zealand troops has emblems with the image of kiwi, and subsequently this word has become popular in New Zealand and beyond. The New Zealand media broadly use this word both to refer directly to the country and its inhabitants, as well as to the notion of “New Zealand” in general: “Kiwi star Beulah Koale's Hollywood role in a thank you for your service (The New Zealand Herald,June 21, 2017) [5], Kiwi's right royal performance (Waikato Times, May 11, 2018) [7], “Online show to celebrate Kiwi women” (The Dominion Post, May 11, 2018) [4], “A giant leap for Kiwi industry” The Dominion Post, May 9, 2018) [4].

However, the Maori name of country is also used by New Zealand Mass media very often - Aotearoa: “Four top spots to celebrate Aotearoa” (The New Zealand Herald, February 6, 2018) [5], “Focus: Big second day for President Barack Obama in Aotearoa” (The New Zealand Herald,March 22, 2018) [5], “Tour Aotearoariders' stolen bikes draw huge social media response”(The New Zealand Herald, March 7, 2018) [5], “Too many tourists in Aotearoa? What Kiwis really think”(The New Zealand Herald,April 27, 2018) [5].

The another example of widespread Maori term is “iwi”, that means “Maori people”: “Iwi gives $100,000 to children's charity Kids Can”(The New Zealand Herald, May 11, 2018) [5], “Iwi leader blasts Craggy Range Winery and 'racist' attitudes in Havelock North”(The New Zealand Herald, May 15, 2018) [5], “Ngai Takato, Resin & Wax Holdings joint venture will help 'future- proof iwi” (The New Zealand Herald, April 16, 2018) [5], “Iwi speaks out about 'premature' Pink and White Terraces announcement”(The New Zealand Herald, March 29, 2018) [5]. maori semantic vocabulary

Often in the New Zealand press we can find text that almost entirely consists of borrowed Maori words that are used to denote endemic flora or fauna: “Myrtle rust affects plants in the myrtle family, which includes pohutukawa, manuka, rata, kanuka, swamp maire and ramarama” (New case of myrtle rust found in Collingwood, Nelson Mail, May 19, 2018) [6], where “ manuka” is a New Zealand shrub, “rata” is a tree in myrtle families, also the endemic of New Zealand, and “kanuka” and “ramarama” are two kinds of shrubs. Outside of New Zealand, there are alternative names for these plants, but in the country of origin they are called almost exclusively by Maori names. On the pages of the New Zealand media there are also Maori borrowings, which refer to the phenomena of nature, the landscape, and so on. An example is the headlines of New Zealand newspapers such as “The Giant Tomo appears on Tumunui farmland” (The New Zealand Herald, May 1, 2018) [5].

1. Deverson, Tony New Zealand English lexis: Maori dimension. Tony Deverson, April 1991, English Today, ,Volume7, Issue 02, April 1991, p.18-25.

2. Macalister, John. 2006a. The Maori presence in the New Zealand English lexicon, 1850 -2000: Evidence from a corpus-based study. English World-Wide 27. p.1-24.

3. Macalister, John. 2007a. Weka or woodhen? Nativization through lexical choice in New Zealand English. World Englishes 26. p.492506.

4. https ://www. stuff.co.nz/ dominion-post/

5. https://www.nzherald.co.nz

6. https ://www. stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/

7. https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/

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